Summon Fu Dogs For Protection

You won’t be ridiculed for mistaking the famous Fu Dogs for lions. Some even call them dragon dogs.

In fact, many statues and monuments of these mythical creatures are made to look more like lions than dogs.

This can either be due to wrong knowledge and information, or that the makers themselves decided to give the dogs a fiercer appearance since they are meant to ward off negative energy and people with bad intentions.

Such is the powerful reputation of fu dogs for protection that they are used be Emperors throughout Chinese history to guard palaces and other places of significance.

And they don’t just exist in statue form. A lot of them are also present in drawings.

Lion or dog?

Feng Shui masters had a huge dilemma when the creatures were first conceptualized.

People naturally leaned towards lions as they were the kings of the jungle and there’s no better animal in the animal kingdom that symbolize protectors as much as them.

But as these creatures were required to be placed in locations of importance and residences, lions seemed just a little to wild to be tamed for domestic guardians or “pets”.

As more and more Fu dogs, or foo dogs, were used, it became an oriental custom that is practiced till today.

However, it is not uncommon for religious places to have lions instead of fu dogs. As these are not places of residence, it is more appropriate for lions to stand guard.

Moreover, places of worship are more protective against evil energy. Thus, using a fiercer mythical creature for protection makes practical sense.

Placing fu dogs

The fu dogs always come in a pair of male and female. Always.

There are a couple of reasons for this.

Firstly, bad energy can be both in Yin or Yang form. And having a male (yang) and female (yin) presence at the door of a house will make the entrance better able to ward off bad energy.

Secondly, bad energy and bad feng shui can enter a door from both sides. This is why it makes sense for two fu dogs to stand guard at both sides of an entrance.

If there is the presence of only one dog outdoor, it would not be able to guard the other side. And if the dog is to guard the center of a door, it will just be obstructing everybody from entering the place. Making it impractical.

Since there are two fu dogs to place on both sides of a door, they would undoubtedly occupy the left and right side of it.

The male would be on the right side of the door, while the female on the left.

Placing them wrongly would make them less effective.

I cringe every time I see them placed wrongly. Especially at places of significance.

The biggest reason why home owners place them wrongly, other then not knowing at all, is that they cannot tell the difference between the male and female.

This can be understandable as they are often manufactured as a pair with similar material and color.

But they almost always come with an item under a front paw.

The male usually plays with a ball, while the female will be patting an offspring.

Sometimes, they are made in a pair with one without anything under it’s paw. When that happens, whether the one without an item is male or female will depend on what the other fu dog has under it’s paw.

If other dog has a ball, the one without will be female. And if it has an offspring, the one without will be male.

Bear in mind that they are not meant to be huge overpowering creatures. So don’t get gigantic ones as big as a bear… unless you live in a HUGE house with a HUGE entrance.

At the same time, when an entrance or door is too wide, how fu dogs are placed will then depend on judgment. This is when an experienced feng shui master will come in handy.

The size of the creatures can be a key determinant too.

Fu dogs lose their power the further the distance they are placed from each other.

Placing just one of them would make little practical sense.

It is like having a steak with just a knife or a fork. You need both utensils to efficiently consume the steak. While it is still possible to eat it with just a fork or knife, it will not be efficient… and can be a messy affair too.

They are also best positioned on the ground or slightly elevated above the ground.

Some people place them pretty high up, which is not the best place for them.

Dogs are not happy with heights. In fact, if you have a pet dog at home, just place it on a dining chair and you might start to see it shiver with fear and uncertainty.

So it is not ideal to place fu dogs high above ground level. Especially when they are just standing on top of a narrow pillar or wall.

Finally, with the wide variety of materials to select from, the best in my opinion is ceramic.

Some are carved with wood with great workmanship. Some are made with metal like brass. People are also known to have them in paintings or sculpted in jade, even marble.

However, the best in my opinion is ceramic. Ceramic is an element of earth. And that is what’s most suitable for fu dogs.